Remote control system



1938. H. c; VANTASSEL REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM Filked Jan. 23, 1935 LHBO-AS-T-T I. M J Tr N N m mm H wlvA w a m ml H P my B Patented Feb. 1, 1938UNITED STATES "5 OF F'ICE.

Application January 23, 1933, Serial No. 653,023

26 Claims.

My invention relates to remote controlsystems for the control of devicesat a remote point over a small number of line wires, and is particularlyadaptedfor, though in no way limited to, the control of railway switchesand signals from a centrally located point, such as a dispatchers ofiiceor interlocking tower. My present invention is an improvement upon thesystems disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 334,081, filedJanuary 21, 1929, now U. S. Letters Patent 2,053,-

928 granted September 18, 1936, and of my Patent No. 1,854,967, datedApril 19, 1932, and contemplates the control of a railway switch and ofsignals governing traffic over the switch by means of but two line wiresand a common return.

One object of my present invention is the provision, in a system of thischaracter employing sources of current of reversible polarity at bothends of the line wires, of selecting apparatus so sources to the sameline wire at the same time.

Another object is the provision, in a system in which two line wires areat times utilized for the control andindication, respectively, of atrack switch, and are at other times utilized for the control andindication of the signals governing traffic over the switch, and inwhich the control is effected by means of levers which are not lockedand are free to be moved at any time, of an arrangement of apparatus bywhich the movement of the signal lever when the switch and switch leverdo not correspond in position is without effect, the apparatus beingarranged so that the signal lever may be moved during such time and willbecome effective to, control the signal as soon as the switch completesits movement and is in agreement with the switch lever.

Other objects and features of my invention will become apparant as thedescription proceeds.

I will describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention, and willthen point out the novel features thereof in claims.

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view illustrating one form ofapparatus embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing, a stretch of single track railway is showndiagrammatically including a detector section T containing the trackswitch W and having a track circuit with the usual track bat-tery Bi anda track relay TS. Adjacent section T is a section of single trackincluding approach section RA occupied when a train approaches theswitch from left to right, having a track circuit including a trackbattery B2 and track relay BAR. At the right of section T is a passingsiding or stretch of double track, including an approach section LAoccupied when a train on the main track approaches the switch from rightto left, having the usual track bat: tery B3 and track relay LAR.Signals RI-IA and RI-IB control. train movements from the single tracksection over the switch to the main track section or siding,respectively, and signals LHA and LI-IB control train movements over theswitch in the opposite direction. The switch W may be operated by amechanism M of any suitable type and this mechanism is in turncontrolled by a polarized switch control relay WR. Signals LHA, LHB, RHAand RHB are controlled by signal relays LAHR, LBHR, RAI-IR, and RLBHR,respectively, which in turn are controlled by a poralized signal controlrelay HR. When any of the signal relays, such as LAI-IR, is deenergized,the corresponding signal displays a stop indication, and when such relayis energized, the corresponding signal is caused to display a proceedindication, the circuits for the control of the signal lamps ormechanism by the signal relay being omitted for simplicity.

I also provide the usual approach locking relays LMR and RMR, includingone for each direction of trafl'ic, together with a time element relayTER. for releasing the locking under certain conditions.

The operating mechanism M for the switch includes the usual switchmachine comprising a motor and a set of circuit controller contactsoperated in the usual manner. The cutout con-.- tacts 3| and ll arecontrolled by the switch machine so that BI is open only when the switchis normal, and I1 is open only when the switch is reverse. Theindication contacts 62, 38, 49 and 23 may be controlled, for example, asdisclosed in the Zabel Patent No. 1,293,290. The apparatus includes apair of thermal relays TI and T2 for protecting the motor againstoverload in the event the switch becomes stalled due to an obstructionin the switch points or from any other cause. The thermal relays controla stick relay S in a manner described in a copending application of R.M. Gilson, Serial No. 637,243, filed October 1, 1932, now Patent No.1,996,198, dated April 2, 1935. The switch machine may be of the wellknown dual selector type, having amanually operable selector lever whichin one position closes a contact DS and also couples the shaft of themotor M by means not shown, to the mechanism for moving the switch sothat the switch is thereby adapted to power operation, and which inanother position opens contact DSand connects a hand throw lever to theswitch mechanism in lieu of the motor so that the switch may be operatedmanually. Contact DS is included in the circuit for relay S, which relaytherefore not only is deenergized to open the switch motor circuit inevent of an overload, but also be-.

comes deenergized when the selector mechanism is moved to the hand-throwposition. Relay S controls the signal circuits, so that all signals arecaused to display stop indications when the switch is to be operated byhand.

The apparatus for the control of the switch 'and signals so fardescribed is preferably located adjacent switch W and is convenientlyreferred to as the station apparatus. Connecting this station with aremote control point or dispatchers office are three line wirescomprising two control wires X and Y and a common return Z. Thedispatchers ofiice equipment for the control of a single switch and thesignal governing traf fic .over it, comprises the apparatus enclosedwithin the dot-and-dash rectangle at the left of the drawing andincludes a two-position switch lever I having a contact l athree-position signal lever 2 having contacts 2 and 2 a switchindication relay WK, a signal indication relay HK, a stick relay HS; aslow pick-up slow release selector relay P; and threelamps TE, WE and.HE. Lamp WE is controlled over front contact 39 of relay WK and islighted when relay WK is energized, as is the case when the switch leveris in control of the switch so that the switch control relay WR isenergized and its polar contacts correspond in position to the positionof the switch, provided track section T is unoccupied so that relay TSis energized, and provided time element TER is in its normal deenergizedposition and the dual selector lever is in the motor position and relayS is energized. Relay I-IK is a polarized relay and may be en ergized toclose its neutral and polarized contacts when any signal is cleared, orto close its neutral contact and to reverse and open its polarizedcontact when all the signals indicate stop, provided the signal lever isin control of the signals and track section T is unoccupied. The signalindication'lamp HE is controlled over the neutral and polarized contacts41 and 48 of relay I-IK and is therefore energized when a signalindicates clear. Lamp TE is controlled by neutral contacts 28 and 46 ofrelays WK and HK in multiple so that it is lighted when either relay WKor HK is energized and therefore indicates that track section T isunoccupied.

It isto be understood that local sources of direct current are provided,both at the oilice and at the station, but for simplicity, I haveillustrated the circuits diagrammatically, and in lieu of showing thelocal sources and the wires lead ing thereto in detail, I have shownonly the terminals of the sources which I have designated in each caseby the reference characters B, C, and N, of which B refers to thepositive terminal, N to the negative terminal, and C to the middleconnection of the usual double battery source of current of twopolarities. In order that the circuits may be more readily traced, Ihave in some instances shown relay contacts remote from the relays whichoperate them, but in each such instance the contact is identified by thereference for the corresponding relay. For example, relay TS has, inaddition to contact 55 shown below the relay, a contact I in thecircuits including line wire X, contacts such as 60 in the circuits forrelays LMR and RMR, and a contact 20 in the common portion of thecircuits for the signal relays LAHR, etc., and of the circuit for relayWK, as will be made clear in the following detailed description of thecircuits.

As shown in the drawing, the switch lever I is normal so the switch W isin the normal position, the track is unoccupied, and the signal lever isin its mid-position so that all the signals indicate stop. I will assumethat the operator desires to reverse the switch. To do this, he willmove lever i to the reverse position, thereby applying current of one,polarity, which I shall term reverse polarity, from terminal N of theoffice source of energy, over contact I of the switch lever, backcontact t of relay HS, wire 5,

back contact 6 of relay P, line wire X leading to the station, frontcontact I of relay TS, wire 8, back contact 9 of relay HR, wire l2,front contacts ill and H of relays LMR and RMR, respectively, winding ofrelay WR to terminal C at the station, and thence over common returnwire Z to terminal C of the source at the ofiice. Relay WR then becomesenergized in the reverse direction so that its polarized contacts becomeclosed to the right, closing the motor circuit which may be traced fromterminal B, through front contact E3 of relay WR, contact M of relay S,right-hand polar contact [5 of relay WR, the armature of motor M,right-hand polar contact lo, the heating element of thermal relay T2,switch circuit controller contact H, the field winding of motor M to theother terminal N of the station source of energy, this circuit beingopened at contact I! in the usual manner when.

the switch completes its movement in the reverse direction. If relay Sis deenergized due to the operation of one of the thermal relays T! orT2, or due to the opening of contact DS, it (S) may be picked upbyreversal of relay WR, which causes a momentary release of its neutralcontacts and closes a circuit from terminal B, through back contact l3,contact DS, and relay S to terminal C. When relay S picks up, it

closes a stick circuit from terminal B, through 23 closed in the reverseposition, wire 24, front contact 25 of relay WE, line wire Y to theoffice, back contact 26 of relay P, wire 21, and relay WK to terminal Cat the oiiice, thence over line wire Z to terminal C of the stationsource of energy, so that indication relay WK becomes energized to closea circuit from terminal B, through contact 28 of relay WK, lamp TE ,toterminal C, and a circuit from terminal B, contact 3t, lamp WE toterminal C so that both lamps TE and WE become lighted.

I will now assume that the operator desires to restore the switch to itsnormal position. To do this, he will return lever I to the normalposition, as shown in the drawing, thereby energizing switch controlrelay WR by a circuit, the same as that described, except that itincludes terminal B and the left-hand contact l of the switch lever sothat relay WR will be energized in the normal direction to close itsleft-hand polar contacts, and switch motor M will be energized by acircuit similar to that already described except that current will flowin the motor armature in the opposite direction and the circuit willinclude the heater of thermal relay T and switch circuit controllercontact 3| which becomes opened when, the switch completes its movementto normal. When relay WR becomes energized in the normal direction, thecircuit of the indication relay WK is opened at contact 2| of relay WR.When the switch completes its movement from reverse to normal, relay WKwill again be energized over a circuit similar to that described exceptthat it includes a branch path extending from the left-hand contact 2|of relay W'R, back contact 32' of relay HR and normal switch circuitcontroller contact 23, so that lamps TE and WE will again becomelighted.

I will now assume that with switch W in the normal position, theoperator desires to clear the signal LHA. To do this, he will movesignal lever 2 to the left, closing a local circuit from terminal B,over front contact 29 of relay WK, left-hand contact 2 of signal lever2, and relay HS-to' terminal C so-that relay HS will become energized toopen its back contact 4 in the switch control circuit to release relayWR. Relay WR will then open its contact 25 and disconnect the stationsource of energy from line wire Y, so that relay WK becomes deenergized.

When relay HS picked up, it closed its stick circuit from terminal B,over contact 33, switch lever contact 2 and relay HS to terminal C, sothat relay HS remains energized after relay WK is released as long aslever 2 is in either the lefthand or right-hand position. Relay HS alsocloses a circuit from terminal B, through contact 34, relay P to'terminal C so that relay 1? becomes energized and picks up after a shorttime interval to close the signal control circuit from terminal B at theofiice, through contact 2' of the signal lever, wire 35, front contact26 of relay P, line wire Y, back contact 25 of relay WR, wire 31, relayHR to terminal C at the station,

and common return wire Z to terminal C of the office source. Relay HRthen picks up and closes its polar contacts in the normal or left-handdirection, completing the signal control circuit from terminal B, overcontact l8 of relay S, contact IQ of relay TER, contact 20 of relay TS,left-hand contact 2| of relay WR, front contact 32 of relay HR, normalcontact 38 of the switch circuit controller, left-hand contact 39 ofrelay HR, front contact 40 of track relay RAR, and signal relay LAHR toterminal C so that relay LAHR becomes energized to clear signal LHA.

When relay LAHR is energized, a signal indication circuit is closed fromterminal N of the station source, through front contact 4| of relayLAHR, back contacts 42 and 43 of relays RBI-IR and RAHR, Wire 44, frontcontact 3 of relay HR, wire 8, front contact I of relay TS, line wire X,front contact 6 of relay P, wire 45, and relay HK to terminal C at theofiice, line wire Z to terminal C of the station source so that relay HKbecomes energized in its reverse direction closing its neutral contact46 to complete a circuit to energize lamp TE, and closing its neutralcontact 41 and polarized contact 48 to complete a circuit for lamp HE,thus lighting both lamps TE and HE when the signal is clear, while lampWE is extinguished.

If lever 2 is moved to the left when the switch is in its reverseposition, signal LHB will clear in lieu of signal LHA, the signal relaycircuit extending in this case from terminal B over contacts l8, l9 and20, right-hand contact 2| of relay WR, front contact 22' of relay HR,reverse switch circuit controller contact 49, left-hand contact 50? ofrelay HR, contact 5| of relay RAR, and relay LBHR to terminal C. Whenrelay LBHR is energized, signal LHB will clear, and relay HKwill. becomeenergized over an indication circuit simi lar to that already describedexcept that it includes front contact 52 of relay LBHR, and back.contact 4| of relay LAHR in lieuof front contact 4 I. If the operatormoves. lever 2 to the right, when the switch is normal, signal RI-IAwill clear in lieu of LHA, the signal relay circuit being from terminalB, over contacts |8, |9, Zll, 2|, 32, and 38, right-hand contact 39 ofrelay HR, contactv 53 of relay LAR, and relay RAHR to terminal C, sothat relay RAI-IR will become energized to clear signal RHA, and willclose the signal indication circuit. at. its front contact 43. Iflever-2' is moved to the right when the switch is reversed, a signalrelay circuit is closed from terminal B,

over contacts l8, I9, 20, 2|, 22 and 49, right-hand;

contact 50, front contact 54 of relay LMR, and relay RBI-IR to terminalC so that relay RBHR will become energized to clear signal RHB, and

to close the signal indication circuit at its front.

contact 42.

It will be noted that track relay TS for section T is a stick relay, itbeing energized fromsource Bl, over the track rails of section T bymeans of a circuit. including its own front contact 55, and in multipletherewith a back contact 55 of relay HR. It follows therefore that.

if a train accepts a signal and passes through section T, relay TS willbecome deencrgized and will remain so after the train leaves the sectionas long as relay HR is kept energized. Under these conditions, contact2|! of relay TS, in the signal relay circuit will be open and the signalwill remain at stop. To clear the signal again, the operator is requiredto move lever 2 to the center position to deenergize relay HR andthereby close the pickup circuit for relay TS over back contact 56 andafter this has beenv done,

lever 2 may again be moved to the left or right to energize relay HR toclear the signal as de sired, and relay TS will remain energized overits front contact 55 so that contact 20 in the signal circuit will beclosed.

When a train enters section T, relay TS opens its contact 1 in thecircuit of indication relay- I-IK so that this relay becomes deenergizedand;

extinguishes lamps TE and HE. When the operator moves lever 2 to themiddle position, the

ofiice source is disconnected from wire Y, at con-' tact 2 relays HS andHR are deenergized, and:

relay HR opens its front contact 9 to'disconnect the station source ofenergy from wire X. Relay HS closes its back contact 4 to connect theofiice source from the switch lever contact to wire 5, and deenergizesrelay P. When relay P closes: its back contact, the switch controlcircuit is again completed over wire X. Relay WR picks up, and as soonas the train leaves the section relay TS picks up, so that the switchindication circuit is again completed over wire Y. If the operator nowmoves lever 2 to the left or right to pick up relay HR, for example, toclear signal LHA, and if the track beyond section T governed by thissignal is occupied, so that relay EAR is deenergized, contact 40 will beopen and signal LHA will not clear and the stop signal indicationcircuit will be closed from terminal B of thestation source over backcontacts 52, 4|, 42 and 43 of the signal relays, wire 44, and over wireX,

as already described to energize relay HK in the normal direction tomove polarized contact 48 to the left. Contact 46 will close to lightlamp TE but lamp HE will be deenergized indicating that the track isunoccupied and that all signals are at stop. When section RA becomesunoccupied, signal relay LAHR will become energized to reverse thepolarity of the current supplied to relay HK, and lamp HE will becomelighted.

It will be noted that the line circuits including wire X, which I havedescribed, include contact I of relay TS, and that when wire X isemployed for an indication circuit, this contact controls'lamps TE andHE. in accordance with the condition of section T. When line X isemployed for a control circuit, contact I prevents the control of relayWR by lever I if section T is occupied.

The operation of relay WR is prevented when.

the train is approaching a clear signal, or if a signal is put to stopin front of an approaching train, by reason of contacts I9 and II of theapproach locking relays in the circuit for relay WR. The approachlocking relay RMR has a pickup circuit from terminal B, over backcontacts 51 and 58 of the signal relays RAHR,.RBHR, front contact 59 ofapproach relay RAR, and relay RMR to terminal C, so that relay RMRbecomes deenergized whenever either signal RHA or RHB iscleared, and maybe energized when these signals are put to stop provided no train isapproaching. Relay RMR may also be picked up when a train enters sectionT, over a circuit including back contact 60 of relay TS which is bridgedaround contact 59 in the circuit for relay RMR just described. Relay RMRmay also be picked up even though section RA is occupied when signal RHAis put to stop, by the apparatus I will now describe, but in this caseonly after a considerable time interval. When the signal is put to stop,a circuit is closed from terminal B, over contacts 5'! and 58, backcontact6l of relay RMR, front contact 64 of relay LMR, and relay TER toterminal 0. Relay TER will then become energized and at once open itsback contact I9, and after a considerable time interval will close itscontact 63 bridged around contact 59 in the circuit of relay RMR, sothat relay RMR will pick up. When relay RMR is energized, it closes itsown front contact 6! bridged around contact 59, so that when onceenergized, it will remain so, as long as the signal relays aredeenergized. The approach locking relay LMR for the opposite directionis controlled by signal relays LAHR and LBI-IR and by relays TS and TERin a manner similar to that described for relay RMR. except that thepickup circuit including front contact 65 of approach relay LAR alsoincludes a normal contact 62 of the switch circuit controller, fromwhich it follows that if the switch is reversed, relay LMR can not bepicked up immediately following the movement of signal LHB from proceedto stop.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided means forcontrolling and indicating a track switchv and a group of signals from aremote point by the use of but two line wires and a common return, andthat the selection of the use of these wires is effected by means of thesignal lever through the medium of a slow acting relay P in such amanner that it is not possible to connect a source of energy to one endof line wire X or Y until after the source of energy at the opposite endof the line wire has been disconnected; thus, for example, when relay Pis deenergized, the source of energy for wire X is at the office and forwire Y is at the station.

If lever 2 is moved to the left or right, it first causes contact 4 ofrelay HS to open to disconnect the ofiice source from wire X. Thisreleases relay WR, opening contact to disconnect the station sourcefrom.wire Y. Relay. P also becomes energized and after a short timeinterval picks up to connect the ofiice source to wire Y to energizerelay HR, which picks up to close front contact 9 to connect the stationsource to wire X. The ofiice source is disconnected from wire Y by themovement of lever 2 to the center position, and the station source isdisconnected from wire X by the release of HR, before relay P releasesto again connect the ofiice source ,to wire X and the station source towire Y.

It will also be noted that the apparatus is .50 arranged that operationof the switch by. the switch control relay WR can not be interfered withby premature movement of the signal lever 2 while the switch is beingoperated, and that by means of the stick relay HS, levers l and 2 may beoperated sequentially in a single operation without waiting for theswitch to complete its movement. The movement of the signal lever inthis instance to the proceed position does not interfere in any way withthe control of the switch by the switch lever, but when the switchreaches a position corresponding to thatof the switch lever, so thatrelay WK picks up, stick relay HS becomes energized and the signal leveris thus automatically made effective to control the signals. Thisfeature. is of considerable advantage in many instances as it requiresless at-f tention fromthe operator than would otherwise be the case andis an arrangement that is ob-; viously applicable to many othersituations and to arrangements of track layouts difierent from thesimple single switch shown. In a more complicated layout, several routesmay be governed by a single signal control lever, and the routesmayinclude several switches each of which is provided with an indicationrelay WK. In this case, the signal lever may be moved to a clearposition While these various switches are being operated by manipulationof their respective switch levers, and the proper signal may be causedto clear automatically when each switch of the route completes itsmovement to a position corresponding to that of its switch lever. Thismay be accomplished in an obvious manner by controlling relay HS of suchsignal lever overfro-nt contacts 29 of each of the relays WK in,

series.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of apparatusembodying my invention, itis understood that various changes andmodifications may be made thereinwithin the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, whatl claim is: I

1.In combination, a railway track switch, a

plurality of signals for governing the movement of trafiic over theswitch, svwltch and signal control relays adjacent the switch, a firstand a second control wire and a common return wire extending from theswitch to a remote point, switch and signal indication relays and aselector relay at said remote point, means for energizing the switchcontrol relay over the first control and common return wires when thesignal control relay and the selector relay are deenergized, means forenergizing the switch indication relay over the second control andcommon return wires when the switch control relay is energized and theselector relay deenergized, meansfor energizing the selector relay,means for energizing the signal control relay over the second controland common return wires when the switch control relay is deenergized andthe selector relay is energized, and means for energizing the signalindication relay over the first control and common return wires when thesignal control relayan-d the selector relay are energized.

.2. In a remote control system, an office and a station, a first and asecond control relay at the station, three line wires extending from the:office tothe station, a first and a second indication relay and aselector relay at the office; a circuit for the first control relayincluding an office source of energy, the first and third line wires andback contacts of the selector relay and of the second control relay; acircuit for the first indication relay including a station source ofenergy, the second and third 'line wires, a front contact of the firstcontrol relay and a back contact of the selector relay; a circuit forthe second control relay including the ofiice source of energy, thesecond and third line wires, a back contact of the first control relayand a front contact of the selector relay; and a circuit for the secondindication relay including the station source of energy, the first andthird line wires, and front contacts of the selector relay and of thesecond control relay.

3. In a remote control system, an o-flice and a station, a slow-actingrelay and a manually operable lever at the office; a line circuitadapted to the closed when said lever is in a first position andincluding a source of energy at the station, a. line 'wire and a relayat the office; means responsive to the movement of said lever to a sec--ond position to energize the slow-acting relay andto disconnect thestation source of energy from the line'circuit; and a second linecircuit closed when the slow-acting relay becomes energized including asource of energy at the office,

the manually operable lever, said line wire, and

a relay at the station; whereby either the ofifiice or station relaysmay be controlled over said line wire-in accordance with the position ofsaid lever.

4. In a remote control system, an ofiice and a station, a manuallyoperable lever and a slowacting relay at the ofice; a first line circuitincluding a line wire and common return, a source of energy at thestation and a relay at the o ifice, and adapted to be closed when themanually operable lever and the slow-acting relay each are in a'firstposition; a second line circuit including the same line wire and commonreturn, a source of energy at the ofiice and a relay at the station, andadapted to be closed when the manually operable lever and theslow-acting relay each are in a second position; and a circuit for theslowacting relay closed when the manually operable lever is in oneposition and open when the lever is in'the other position, whereby themovement of the lever from either position to the other causes onesource of energy to be disconnected from the line wire and the slowacting relay to be actuated to subsequently connect the other source ofenergy to the line wire.

5. In a remotecontrol system, an oflice and a station, a railway trackswitch and signals for governing the movement of traffic over theswitch; a switch control circuit comprising a switch control relay atthe station, line wires and contacts of a switch lever at the oflice,and adapted to be closed to energize the relay'to operate the switch; asignal control circuit comprising a signal control relay at the station,line wires and contacts of a signal lever at the olfice, and adapted tobe closed in certain positions of the signal lever to selectively clearsaid signals; a normally open contact at the oiliceincluded in saidsignal control circuit; a switch indication relay energized when theswitch and its control relay occupy corresponding positions and theswitch control relay is energized, and means operating when the switchindication relay becomes energized to close said normally open contactto complete the signal control circuit provided the signal levercontacts are then closed.

6. In a remote control system, an ofiice and a station, a railway trackswitch and signals for governing the movement of trafiic over .theswitch; a switch control circuit comprising a switch control relay atthe station, line wires and contacts of a switch lever at the office andadapted to beclosed to energize the relay to operate the switch; asignal control circuit comprising a signal control relay at the station,line wires and contacts of a signal lever at the ofiice and adapted tobe closed in certain positions of the signal lever to selectively clearsaid signals; a normally open contact at the oflice includedlin saidsignal control circuit; a switch indication relay at the oifice, adaptedto indicate the condition of the switch; means controlled by the switchwhen fully operated to energize the switch indication relay, andvmeansrendered effective when the switch indication relay becomes energizedfor closing said normally open contact to thereby render the signalcontrol relay responsive to the condition of said signal lever contacts.

'7. In a remote control system, an office and a station, a railway trackswitch and signals for governing the movement of trafic over the switch;a switch control circuit comprising a switch control relay at thestation, line wires and contacts of a switch lever at the ofiice, andadapted to be closed to energize the relay to-operate the switch; asignal control circuit comprising a signal control relay at the station,line wires and contacts of a signal lever at the office, and adapted tobe closed in certain positions of the signal lever to selectively clearsaid signals; a normally open contact included in the signal controlcircuit, a switch indication relay adapted to indicate the condition ofthe switch, a stick relay having a pickup circuit including a frontcontact of the indication relay and signal lever contacts closed whenthe lever is in a position to clear a signal and having a stick circuitindependent of said indication relay, and means controlled by said stickrelay when energizedfor closing said normally open contact. I

8. In a remote control system, an oflice and a station connected by linewires, a railway track switch and signals for governing the movement oftraffic over the switch at the station, switch and signal levers, aswitch indication relay, 'a stick relay and a slow-acting relay at theofilce, a polarized switch control relay and a polarized signal controlrelay at the station, a switch-connal control relay, contacts controlledby the signal lever and a front contact of the slow acting relay; aswitch indication circuit including the switch indication relay, a backcontact of the slow-acting relay, front neutral and polarized 7 contactsof the switch control relay and contacts controlled by the switch andincluding a branch circuit closed only when the switch and its controlrelay correspond in position; a pickup circuit for the-stick relayincluding a front contact of the switch indication relay and a contactcontrolled by the signal lever, a stick circuit for the stick relayincluding said signal lever contact and its own front contact, and acircuit for the slow-acting relay including a front contact of the stickrelay.

9.'In a remote control system, a section of railway track including atrack switch, a signal governing the movement of traflic through thesection, a switch machine for operating the switch, a dual selectoroperable to one position for conditioning the switch for manualoperation and to another position for conditioning the switch foroperation by said machine, a'switch control relay for operating theswitch machine, means for energizing said relay from a remote point, astick relay, a pickup circuit for the'stick relay including a backcontact of the switch control relay,

'a stick circuit for said relay including its own front contact, each ofsaid circuits also including a contact opened when the dual selector isin the position for conditioning the switch for manual operation, and acontrol circuit for the signal including a front contact of the stickrelay.

10. In combination, a railway track switch, a plurality of signals forgoverning the movement of traffic over the switch, a switch controlrelay and a signal control relay adjacent the switch, a first and asecond line wire extending from said switch to a remote point; switchand signal indication relays and a selector relay at said remote point;means for energizing the switch control and indication relays over thefirst and second line wires respectively when the selector relay is inone condition and for energizing the signal control and indicationrelays over the second and first line wires respectively when theselector relay is in another condition, each indication relay beingenergized only if the corresponding control relay is energized and meansfor controlling said selector relay efiective only when both saidcontrol relays are deenergized.

11. In a remote control system, an ofiice and a station, a first and asecond control relay at the station, a first and a second indicationrelay at the ofilce, a first and a second line wire extending from theofiice to the station, means including a source of current at thestation for controlling said indication relays, manually operable meansincluding asource of current at the ofiice for controlling said controlrelays, and manually operable circuit selecting means effec tive in oneposition to permit the energization of the first control and indicationrelays over the first and second line wires respectively, and ef"fective in another position to permit the energization of the secondcontrol and indication relays over the second and first line wiresrespectively, said selecting means being arranged to prevent theconnection of both sources of current to thesame line wire at any time.

12. In a remote control system, an oflice and a station connected byline wires, a manually operable lever, slow acting means associated withsaid lever, sources of energy at the oflice and station connectedrespectively to a first and a second line wire to control devices at thestation and oflice, means responsive to the opera-. tion of said leverto disconnect said sources of energy from said line wires and toinitiate the operation of said slow acting means, and means controlledby said slow acting means when oper ated for connecting the oifice andstation sources of energy respectively to the second and first linewires to actuate other devices at the station and oflice.

13. In combination, a railway track switch, a signal for governing themovement of trafiic over the switch, switch control means for operatingthe switch, a manually operable switch lever for controlling said means,a manually operable signal lever having a proceed and a stop position,

a stick relay, a pickup circuit for the stick relay closed only when theswitch and its control means are in corresponding positions and thesignal lever is in its proceed position, a stick circuit for the stickrelay independent of the switch and its control means, means effectivewhen the stick relay is energized for preventing control of the switchcontrol means by the switch lever until the signal lever is restored tothe stop position, and means for preventing the clearing of the signalwhen the signal lever is in the proceed position unless the stick relayis energized.

14. In combination, a railway track switch, switch control means foroperating the switch, a manually operable switch lever located at apoint remote from said switch for controlling said means, locking meansfor at times rendering said lever inefiective to control said means, anindication lamp associated with said lever, and means for lighting saidlamp only when the switch and its control means are in correspondingpositions and said lever is efiective to control said means.

15. In combination, a section of railway track including a switch, asignal for governing the movement of traffic over the switch, a trackcircuit for said section including a track relay, switch control meansfor operating said switch,

signal control means for operating said signal,

a switch indication relay controlled by said track relay and by saidswitch and said switch control means, a polarized signal indicationrelay controlled by said track relay and by a pole changer controlled bysaid signal, means controlled by a contact of said switch indicationrelay, signal indication means controlled by neutral and polar contactsof said signal indication relay, and track indication means controlledby neutral contacts of both said switch and said signal indicationrelays. V

16. In a remote control system, two movable devices, a control relay andan indication relay for each device, a first and a second line wireextending from said devices to a remote point, a selector relay at saidremote point, circuits for energizing the control and indication relaysfor one device including the first and second line wires respectivelyand closed only when the selector relay is deenergized, circuits forenergizing the control and indication relays for the other deviceincluding the second and first line wires respectively and closed onlywhen the selector relay is energized, the circuit for each indicationrelay being closed only when the corresponding control relay isenergized, and manually operable means for controlling the selectorrelay and said control relays, said selectorv relay being controllableonly when both said control relays are deenergized.

17. In combination with a railway track switch, a power operated switchmachine for operating the switch, a dual selector operable to oneposition for conditioning the switch for ill" aroopoo manual operationand to another position for conditioning the switch for operation bysaid switch machine, a polarized relay controlled from a distant pointto operate said switch machine, a stick relay, a stick circuit for saidstick relay including its own front contact and a selector contactclosed only when the dual selector is in the position for conditioningthe switch for operation by said switch machine, a pickup circuit forsaid stick relay including said selector contact and a contact whichcloses momentarily when said polarized relay is controlled to operatethe switch machine, and an operating circuit for said switch machineincluding contacts of said polarized relay and a front contact of saidstick relay.

18. In combination with a railway track switch, a power operated switchmachine for operating the switch, a dual selector operable to oneposition for conditioning the switch for manual operation and to anotherposition for conditioning the switch for operation by said switchmachine, a polarized relay manually controllable from a distant point,operating circuits normally effective to cause the switch machine tooperate when the polarized relay is manually controlled, and meansrendering said circuits inefiective when the dual selector is operatedto said one position, said means being efiective to maintain saidcircuits ineffective after the dual selector is returned to said anotherposition until said polarized relay is again manually controlled.

19. In combination with a railway track switch, a power operated switchmachine for operating the switch, a dual selector operable to oneposition for conditioning the switch for manual operation and to anotherposition for conditioning the switch for power operation, a polarizedrelay subject to manual control, a stick relay, means deenergizing saidstick relay when the dual selector is operated to said one position, apickup circuit for said stick relay closed only when the dual selectoris in its other position and said polarized relay is released, andnormal and reverse operating circuits for effecting the power operationof said switch. machine controlled by normal and reverse polar contactsof said polarized relay and by front contacts of said polarized relayand of said stick relay.

20. In combination, a railway track switch, a plurality of signals forgoverning the movement of traffic over the switch, switch and signalcontrol relays adjacent the switch, a first and a second control wireand a common return wire extending from the switch to a remote point,switch and signal indication relays and electroresponsive selector meansat said remote point, means for energizing the switch control andindication relays over the first and second control wires respectivelyand the common return wire, when the electro-responsive selector meansis deenergized; means for energizing the electro-responsive selectormeans; and means for energizing the signal control and indication relaysover said second and first control wire respectively and the commonreturn wire, when the electro-responsive selector means is energized.

21. In a railway traflic controlling system, a. control oflice, adistant field station, a first line wire connecting the control officeand the field station, a track switch control means at said fieldstation positioned according to the polarity of energy applied at saidcontrol ofi'ice to said first line wire, a second line wire connectingthe control office and the field station, an indication circuitincluding said second line wire, means-effective when the polarityapplied to said firstline wire is changed to condition said indicationcircuit to transmit an indication to the control oflice when the trackswitch has responded to such change, means in said office forregistering the indication transmitted over said second line'wire, andmeans for transmitting controls to the field station over said secondline circuit only after said indication has been registered at thecontrol oifice.

22. Incombination, a control office, a first and a second line wireextending from the control office to a distant track switch, a switchcontrol circuit including said first line wire, a. signal controlcircuit including said second line Wire for controlling signalsassociated with said track switch, means for transmitting a switchindica tion momentarily over said second line wire after each change inposition of the track switch, means at the ofiice responsive to saidswitch indication for energizing the second line wire, and meansrendering said first line wire available to transmit signal indicationswhen the second line wire is energized from the control oflice.

23. In combination, a control ofilce, a field station, a first line wireconnecting the control office and the field station, means forcontrolling a track switch at the field station in accordance with thepolarity of energization of said line wire, a second line wireconnecting the control office and the field station, means forenergizing said second line wire when the track switch is operated to aposition corresponding to the polarity of energization of said firstline wire, storing means for said energization arranged to conditionsaid second line wire to be selectively energized by a signal controlmeans at said control ofllce, indication means at said control ofiice,and means for conditioning said indication means to be responsive toenergy applied to said first line wire in accordance with the responseto said signal control at the, field station.

24 In combination, a control ofilce, a field station, a first line wireconnecting the control oflice and the field station, means forcontrolling a track switch at the field station over said first linewire, a second line wire connecting the control ofiice and the fieldstation, means for indicating at the control ofiice the operatedposition of said track switch by the energization of said second linewire, and means at the control oflice and at the field station forestablishing a circuit including said second line wire for selectivelyclearing signals at the field station from the control oilice renderedeffective only when an indication of the operated position of said trackswitch has been registered at the control oflice.

25. In a centralized trafiic controlling system for railroads, a controloffice and a field station connected by a first and a second controlline wire, a switch control lever and a signal control lever at saidofiice, a track switch and associated signals at said station, meansresponsive to the operation of said switch control lever for controllingthe operation of said track switch over said first control line wire,means responsive to the operation of said signal control lever forcontrolling the operation of said signals over said second control linewire, a relay directly responsive to the operation of said signal leverand energizable independently of said line wires for transferring saidfirst line wire from a switch control to a signal indication circuit atsaid control ofiice, and means for transmitting signal indications oversaid first line wire.

26. In a centralized trafiic controlling system for railroads,v acontrol office and a field station connected by a first'and a secondcontrol line wire, a switch control lever and a signal control lever atsaid ofiice, a track switch and associated traflic signals at'saidstation, means controlled by the position of said switch control leverfor distintively energizing said first control line wire, meansresponsive to the distinctive energization of said first control linewire for distinctively operating said track switch, means controlled bythe position of said track switch for energizing said second controlline wire, means responsive to the energization of said second controlline wire for indicating in said ofiice the condition of said trackswitch, means responsive to the operation of said signal control leverfor transferring said second control line wire from a switch indicationcircuit to a signal control circuit, means controlled by the position ofsaid signal control lever for distinctively energizing said secondcontrol line wire whereby said trafiic signals are selectivelycontrolled, and means for preventing the energization of said secondcontrol line wire in accordance with the condition of said track switchuntil said condition corresponds to the energization of said firstcontrol line wire in accordance with the position of said switch controllever.

HARRY C. VANTASSEL.

